Macbeth (Dramatized)
By: William Shakespeare / Narrated By: Alan Cumming
Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
Don’t sue me, but seriously: I never read Macbeth before!
We’d just finished Macbeth: A Novel for our little audiobook club, and I loved it but was MASSIVELY confused. After all, for some reason, we never did “Macbeth” by Shakespeare in high school, don’t ask me how. For some reason, “Hamlet” was deemed well and good enough. So NATURALLY, after listening to The Novel, I dashed off to get The Play cuz I wanted to know what the heck I’d just listened to—how the two differed and what all.
First, sooooo many audio versions out there. But Alan Cumming narrated The Novel, I’d just listened to Not My Father’s Son, plus it’s Pride Month, sooooooo: Of COURSE I had to get the One Man Show Alan Cumming did of The Play.
My goodness! I didn’t know what I was getting myself in for, and though I ADORE the man, I must say that, should you wish to listen to The Play, ya miiiiiiiight wanna get a Full Cast production. I say this cuz, while I felt all smug going into this particular version, thinking: Ahhhhh, but I KNOW how Alan Cumming voices EACH CHARACTER, I’ll know who’s speaking at any given moment…. alas, I sorely did not.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth sound basically the same here, and that makes for some mighty confusing listening. All I can tell ya is: If the person sounds SUPER psycho and SUPER cruel? It’s GOTTA be Lady Macbeth. Yeah, yeah, yeah. EVERYbody knows she’s a whack job, sure. But in The Novel? Well, I must admit I very much felt for the gal. Not so much here, and I feel like an idiot for expecting that warmth and confusion.
Cuz, I’ll say it again: This is THE PLAY, GILLIAN! Whadda ya expect from the original intent? The cultural phenomenon?!?
Plus, I didn’t expect The Novel to be such a great expansion on The Play. Here we have battles that are just blips, scenes that are snippets, hauntings that are but an eye-blink. And rages that are tempests in teapots.
I wasn’t expecting that.
Do I regret getting this? Oh no, not at all. After all, I kinda sorta feel like I skated through high school on only “Hamlet” cuz, I mean, how embarrassing is that? (And seriously! Now that you know that’s the ONLY Shakespeare I have in my history, don’t you think I’m an uncultured boob?!?) And certainly Alan Cumming is brilliant. It’s just that you should expect voices of characters to sound a bit the same with only whispered stage directions/scene set-up to divvy up conversations (With the occasional techno-production sound effect thrown in here and there, which helps add a bit o’ atmosphere).
Still? I STRONGLY suggest you listen to BOTH The Play AND The Novel. Because I gotta admit it. Neither is very long. And each are A LOT of fun!!!!
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